"So were you peeking at my life boy? "
William heard a voice behind him that almost made him jump.
However, he quickly regained composure and just when he was about to glance and the being behind him he remembered the words told to him by his mother.
'Never stare at a God'
With this advice in mind, he quickly closed his eyes and bowed.
"I greet the Mana God" William uttered a hint of reverence in his tone.
"Hah, relax kid you can look at me inside the memoirs" A soft childish voice responded with a hint of amusement.
William opened his eyes glancing at the being being before him.
He breathed a sigh of relief realising that the mana God had taken the form from back when he was a kid.
The kid in front of William was the same one in the memories.
"There's no need to worry I'm not here, this is just a piece of my consciousness I left behind in the memoirs for my successor" Mana God replied.
'Phew it seems he's not too stuck up so I don't need to be all formal with him' William thought with a pleased expression on his face.
William stared at the God unsure of what to say or how to address him.
"No need to be afraid William you can just call me Zephyr, after all, while you're a mortal now It's only a matter of time before you reach the same status as me" Mana God said with a chuckle staring at the kid in front of him.
"Wait how do you know my name?" He asked confusion evident in his tone.
"I'm a God" Zephyr calmly responded.
"I foresaw you being born 6000 years ago so I left my legacy for you who possess [Child Of Mana].
"But why would you do that? " William asked his tone carrying a hint of scepticism no longer caring about offending the diving being in front of him.
"Why not?" Zephyr responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What? " William exclaimed confused by what he just heard.
"I'm a God I don't need reason for my actions also I'm curious about how far you can go with proper guidance"
"So you're helping me just on a whim?" William asked a hint of shock present in his tone.
"Yeah pretty much"
"Anyways now moving on to a more pressing topic," Zephyr said with a hint of finality not letting William change the matter anymore.
"I'm going to take you in as my disciple from now on"
"What?" William said still not sure if he understood what was happening.
"Whatever it doesn't matter" William finally said understanding the futility of his question.
"Good I'm glad you're smart"
"I had a look at your status screen and I couldn't help but wonder why are you so weak?"
"What?" William asked unsure of if he heard properly.
"You heard me, now answer my question"
"I'm only 8 what do you want from me man?" William asked his voice portraying his frustration.
"Yeah but you're a divine-human you should be better," Zephyr said in a tone telling he was stating the most obvious thing in the world.
"Back when I was your age I could easily beat 1000 of you" Zephyr uttered with a hint of nostalgia.
"Yeah I'm sure you could" William said unconvinced.
"Wanna test it out?" Zephyr said playfully
"Sure" William retorted.
The next instant time returned to normal as William stepped in front of the the Zephyr from the memory.
Gone were the kids on the ground and the demon now only Zephyr and William remained staring at each other with palpable tension present in the air.
"This is just a simulation fight with no real consequences so feel free to go all out," Zephyr said still carrying his careless attitude and refusing to take a stance.
"Say less" William took a stance with a determined expression annoyed at the God in front of him.
In the next instance, William used all his strength something he had never tried before as he summoned all his chaotic servants and soldiers.
After his command 10 wolf-like beings emerged from his shadow
These wolves were covered in a coat of deep shadow paired with purple lines across their body.
Alongside them, two imposing figures emerged.
The first was a 2-foot-tall werewolf with grey fur and red tattoos along with long claws and a yellowish horn on his head.
The second was a giant bee a bit smaller than the werewolf but still pretty big, it was flying in the air.
The bee was yellow in colour with black stripes on its body and had large round red eyes, the bee also had a large stinger on its tail as well as two smaller drill-like piercers on its hands.
Paired with all his summons William looked quite imposing however, this was just the start as in the next instance William used his ascension skill.
[Mana Ascension]
As soon as he said this William emitted an overwhelming blue aura enveloping the whole forest region in his aura.
Right now William felt on top of the world as if he could defeat anyone in this state.
Once his transformation was done William took away the ability to use Mana from all living beings enveloped in his aura.
Using it all to power his strongest spell, the one he used back when showing off in front of his mother.
(Tri Elemental arrow)
Following his command a gigantic arrow of wind powered by the elements of fire and lightning shot forward towards Zephyr at a speed too fast to be seen.
William expected the fight to be over once the arrow made contact however, unfortunately for William that never happened.
Just as the arrow was about to hit him Zephyr simply raised his hand and absorbed the arrow still not dropping his carefree attitude.
"Boring" Zephyr said in an annoyed tone scaring William down to the core.
"My turn"
In the next instant, an divine ray of light descended from the sky hitting William too fast for him to react as it covered enough area to destroy a city.
The fight between two 8-year-olds with divine aspects lasted 5 seconds.
As William Verhein for the first time in his second life experienced death.